I have attended many blogger conferences over the last few years but have never been so excited for a meet, ever. Yes, I am referring to IFBM here, our very first Food blogger meet at Bangalore next month.

IFBM meet is organized by four talented food bloggers and will showcase a series of  workshops, panel discussions, useful interactions and events to span over two days on August 1^st and 2^nd. The meet is supposed to be attended by enthusiastic food lovers who are good cooks, esteemed cook book writers, publishers, professional food photographers & stylists and social media activists from India and across the globe.

It is really hard to hold back the excitement of meeting many of my virtual food blogger friends whose blogs I have been reading and admiring time and again. Oh..well, I am making and packing the special South Indian lentil-spice mix in the picture above for some of my blogger friends who have asked for it.

Did I tell you that many of us will be sharing same apartment for close to three days….Hmm…start music…it is party time 🙂

Before I forget, let me acknowledge that the endless accolades and countless blessings that is coming my way for whatever I do in the field of food blogging is my tribute to this wonderful community! May the food blogging community grow stronger and stronger as days go by…

1. Oats and Fenugreek leaves Muthiya

This is a co-incidence that I made these Muthiyas when a blogger friend Lata visited me at my home with her husband some days back. Happy that I will be meeting her again in the IFBM meet.

Muthiyas and Khaman Dhoklas are two of my favorite Indian snack recipes. These recipes are light on stomach and are easy to make when you don’t have time to plan ahead for a quick snack. Served with a cup of tea or coffee these crispy treat make a complete morning breakfast in many households in India.

Muthiya (Mutthi refers to fist) is rolled into cylinders using fist and is a very versatile recipe. You can never go wrong even if you add a little less or more of flour in it. These muthiyas will retain its shape once they are steamed.

Various millet and cereals along with different greens added to the Muthiya recipes give interesting combination of flavors and taste. When I first started adding Finger millet (Ragi) flour to my Muthiyas, I was a bit hesitant, but to my surprise they do taste delicious.

Ingredients;

(serve 4)

• 2 cups chopped Amaranth leaves
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup quick cooking Oats
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour
• 2 tbsp yogurt
• 4 green chilies
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• A pinch of baking soda
• Salt to taste

Tempering;

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• A pinch of asafoetida powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Method; Pluck leaves along with tender stalks from Amaranth leaves (Chawli) and wash and chop finely.

I added a handful of fenugreek leaves also in the recipe to give a strong flavor and taste to the Muthiyas as Amaranth leaves are almost bland in taste.

Chop the green chilies finely and Combine chopped Amaranth, Oats (grind the oats into powder if you wish), wheat flour, chickpea flour (besan), sugar, baking powder, asafoetida powder, turmeric powder and salt in a large bowl.

Mix with ight hands or fork to bring all the ingredients together. Add lemon juice ad yogurt to the above ingredients and knead gently to form a dough.

Do not over knead the dough else the Muthiyas will become heavy/hard and might remain uncooked from inside.

Grease your palm and pinch tennis ball sized dough and roll it into cylinders.

Place the muthia cylinders on a greased plate and steam it in a steamer or pressure cooker (without vent) for about 15-20 minuets. Take out the steamed Muthiyas and let it cool completely.

Slice each cylinder into small pieces.

Heat oil and crackle cumin seeds in a large pan or kadai. Add asafoetida powder, sesame seeds and add the steamed Muthiyas in it. Lightly turn the Muthiyas without breaking to coat the tempering over each piece.

Add lemon juice in the tempering and pour this tempering over the Muthiya slices.

2. Finger Millet or Ragi Muthiya

Ingredients;

(serve 3)

• 1 cup Finger millet or Ragi flour
• 1 cup chopped fenugreek leaves
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp. chickpea flour
• 3 tbsp yogurt or curd
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. red chilly powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• Salt to taste

For tempering;

• 2 tbsp. oil
• 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida powder

Method; Pluck the Fenugreek leaves (methi) and wash thoroughly with water.

Chop the leaves finely. Peel ginger and grate it.

Combine chopped fenugreek leaves, finger millet four, wheat flour and chickpea flour in a large bowl. Add grated ginger, yogurt, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, baking powder and salt in the bowl and mix well to make a dough.

Don’t knead the dough heavily to avoid stiff Muthiyas.

Grease your palm with oil, pinch small amount of dough and make cylinders.

Grease a large plate which can fit into the steamer or pressure cooker and place all the cylinders of Muthiyas on it.

Steam the Muthiyas rolls for about 15-20 minutes till the Muthiyas change colour. Let the Muthiya rolls cool completely before slicing into small roundels.

Heat oil in  a large kadai/wok and crackle mustard seeds in it. Add sesame seeds and asafoetida powder in it. Add all the sliced Muthiyas in the wok and saute for a few seconds making sure that Muthiyas don’t break while stirring.

Garnish with coriander leaves or freshly grated coconut and serve as a healthy tea time snack. Notes;

1. Let the Muthiya cylinders cool completely before slicing to avoid breaking it into pieces.
2. The consistency of dough might change depending upon the water content in the chopped and washed leaves used in the recipe.
3. You can replace baking soda with fruit salt (eno) if you wish for better taste.

If you are an active food blogger and want to attend the meet, do check IFBM  Fb page and contact the admins for more details.

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